Chesterfield 25th Anniversary 4K Restoration

In the winter of 1995-96 in Durham and Raleigh, NC, Catherine Constantinou and David Iversen embarked on an adventure to create a 35mm B&W film called Chesterfield on a shoestring budget, a cast and crew of eager locals and a lot of hopes and dreams. The film was completed in 1997 and premiered and the Rialto Theater in Raleigh. From there, we played film festivals and markets up and down the east coast. A DVD was printed and distributed. There was a brief run at the Studio Theater on Hillsborough Street and then...it was retired.

 

Time marched on; digital projection replaced 35mm film projectors in theaters, DVDs went the way of the dodo, and most people now watch movies online. For the past 25 years, the only existing film print has been kept in David's closet. The DVD that was created from the untimed betacam dailies (used for the rough edit) was in standard definition with poor picture quality. The source film negative was lost or destroyed when WRS Film Labs went bankrupt.

 

But today, we now have the opportunity to restore this film to its original quality by scanning the film print frame-by-frame to 4K resolution and matching the audio to the DVD soundtrack. David and Catherine completed a 30-second test segment and the results are nothing less than fantastic. The still frames below show the difference between the standard definition DVD and the 4K restoration.

 

 

 

 

Please be sure to watch the video at the top of this page to see even more details on how this restoration will compare to the DVD. Make sure you set the settings to "1080 HD" and watch full-screen for maximum effect!

We are working with AV Geeks a Raleigh-based film restoration service to perform the transfer. AV Geeks has been collecting and digitizing films for nearly 30 years. With their help, we can complete the restoration of the film for $3000. Catherine and David are asking for your help in raising the money to complete this project. Any money we raise above and beyond $3000 will allow us to add further perks and options for the final digital files as well as help speed the process along.

 

The completed restoration will be uploaded to a streaming service in its entirety for anyone to enjoy absolutely free. While we have not decided what platform will be best for this, we are committed to offering the complete film at no cost as our way of saying thank you to all the people who have helped us out today and 25 years ago.

 

Thank you!

David and Catherine

 

Catherine Constantinou has been a family law attorney in Durham for 29 years and recently began a new position with the Public Defender's office in Durham County.

 

David Iversen is a video producer and documentary filmmaker in Raleigh. His films, such as Raise Up: The World Is Our Gym and Black Beach/White Beach are available on Amazon and iTunes.